People serious about their craft are typically interested in improving their presentations, especially when that craft involves communication with others. For example, a comedian might be interested in improving his comedic routine. He may be interested in making his routine as enjoyable as possible for his audience. For this purpose, some performers seek critique of their performances from others. For example, a performer might invite people to come and watch his performance (possibly at no charge) in order to receive valuable feedback from those people. Using the feedback, the performer might seek to customize his future performances.
However, seeking such “test audiences” can be time-consuming. Performing live in front of people who are present in an audience specifically for the purpose of offering criticism, even if constructive, can sometimes be nerve-wracking. The venues at which such test performances are presented are unlikely to be available to the performer for free. Numerous difficulties attend the approaches that performers have sometimes used in the past in an attempt to hone their skills.
Often, performances are audio-visual in nature. Theoretically, a performer might make a recording of his performance and send that recording to his friends or others who might be willing to watch and offer feedback. Unfortunately, the channels for receiving feedback relative to such recorded presentations are not well developed. Often, even if the performer does receive feedback, such feedback often will not be of the kind in which the performer was really interested. Furthermore, it can be difficult sometimes for the performer to ascertain the specific portions of his performance to which various criticisms apply. All of these factors can combine to make the presentation and feedback process rather ineffective.